Follow The Puck Minnesota High School Hockey MN High School Hockey Follow The Puck — Minnesota High School Hockey
Follow The Puck app: Coming soon

Home Sections 4A

4A

St. Paul Boys Hockey Season Preview 2026-27

St. Paul went 5-19-2 last season, won a Section 4A first-round game over Osseo 3-1, then ran into Mahtomedi and lost 11-0 in the quarterfinal. The bigger story for 2026-27 is graduation — this roster loses almost its entire scoring chart.

Players Lost to Graduation

Gavin Olsen led the team by a wide margin from the blue line — 15 goals, 7 assists, 22 points. Evan Shipp was the top forward, with 7 goals and 7 assists for 14 points.

Ian Wallace added 10 points (4-6), tying for the team’s No. 3 spot. Max Karvonen and Finn Warner each finished with 8 points, and Jojo Cunningham had 6.

In net, Emory Batt graduates after carrying the heaviest workload — a 4-9-1 record with a .891 save percentage in 16 appearances.

Returning Players for 2026-27

Charlie Rust is the headline here — he tied for the team’s actual No. 3 spot in scoring as a sophomore, with 6 goals and 4 assists for 10 points. He’s a junior next year and clearly the best returning option by a wide margin.

Soren Kreuziger added 8 points (1-7) as a junior. Cael Rixen had 6 points, and John Corniea added 6 as a sophomore.

Goaltending

Max Johnson actually posted the better save percentage on the team last season — .905 in 12 appearances, with a 1-8-1 record. He’s a junior next year and likely the top option after Emory Batt’s graduation, even though Batt carried more of the workload last season.

Who to Watch

Charlie Rust is the one proven scoring option left on this roster, and he’s still only entering his junior year. Max Johnson’s save percentage was actually better than the team’s primary starter last season, which is worth watching as he likely takes over the larger share of starts.

What St. Paul Needs to Replace

  • Gavin Olsen’s 22 points from the blue line
  • Evan Shipp’s 14 points
  • Ian Wallace’s, Max Karvonen’s and Finn Warner’s combined production
  • Emory Batt’s share of the goaltending workload

2026-27 Outlook

This is about as significant a graduation hit as any team in Section 4A takes this offseason — the top two scorers and most of the next tier are gone. Charlie Rust gives the program a real building block, and Max Johnson’s underlying numbers in net are a quiet positive, but St. Paul will be relying on a much younger group to replace a senior class that produced the bulk of last season’s offense.

Statistics reflect the 2025-26 regular season and Section 4A playoffs.

Have something for us? Our email is always open, ftphockey@gmail.com

Filed under 4A Sections

Read Next

All news →
Free Newsletter

Don't Miss a Thing

Breaking news, rankings, player features and game coverage from across Minnesota high school hockey — delivered to your inbox.

Sign up